


In The October Sun

by RoseAmaranth



Series: 31 Days of Autumn [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Autumn, Backstory, Cute, Developing Relationship, Family, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy, M/M, apple picking, otp prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-11-10 18:11:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20856074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseAmaranth/pseuds/RoseAmaranth
Summary: Tony doesn't get why people are so fascinated by apple picking of all things. Stephen manages to open his eyes to a world he's never known.





	In The October Sun

**Author's Note:**

> Hello October! This is probably my favorite month of the year because it also happens to be my birth month. Anyway, I'm going to attempt to do this 31 Days of Autumn prompt challenge.
> 
> I'll leave the list at the end if you want to write some of your own. Happy October! :)

Tony glanced through the portal then back at the sorcerer who opened it, brow arched and arms crossed. Peter was already inside, chatting animatedly with Happy, Harley, and Ned while walking through the soft grass path between rows of trees. Stephen waved him on. 

“Apple picking? Just because we live in the big apple doesn't mean we like apples so much we are dying to go to the farms and give them free labor. Which we then have to pay for.” Stephen rolled his eyes. Maybe in Hicktown, USA or wherever Stephen was from, apple picking was considered a fun family event – maybe even something friends got together to do on the weekends – but Tony was a Manhattan man through and through. And something like apple picking didn't appeal to him; not when there was the theater and ice skating in Central Park. Activities that were _fun_.

“You're so quick to judge things you've never even tried before. Why not just give it a chance?” Tony sighed because now he sounded like an asshole, and stepped onto the grass with Stephen close behind. Peter and Ned already had a basket of bright red apples and were currently trying to convince Happy to lift them up so they could reach a juicy looking green one. Stephen led Tony over to the stack of baskets and burlap sacks, handing one off while chatting to the check-in girl who was watching them with round eyes. Tony bristled at her obvious interest in what Stephen was saying, the easy way he smiled at her before pulling Tony away and waxing on about different types of apples and what they were best used for.

“Save your apple facts for Little Miss Muffet back there. I'm sure she would _love_ to hear all about it.” They were standing by a tree displaying apples nearly pink in color. Tony snatched one hanging withing reach and tossed it into the basket he carried. Stephen reached up for a larger one, stretching onto his toes so he could grab it. Tony crossed his arms when Stephen held it out for him to admire.

“It's better if you go for the ones nearer the top. They have better flavor and won't start rotting before you have a chance to eat them.” The apple dropped into Tony's basket, Stephen ignoring the burlap saddlebag we had on, and then they moved on to some more trees. The sun was warm as it shone down through the canopy of trees, though the snagging gusts of wind that snaked through were chilly and had Tony zipping his jacket up. 

Stephen continued pulling apples down and examining them as they walked, sometimes rambling off random facts about them, or recipes Wong wanted to try; most times simply admiring it before holding it out for Tony to inspect. He wasn't exactly an expert on a good apple, but he would stare at the shiny fruit for a few seconds and nod. Peter's excited shout or Happy's cautioning tone would occasionally interrupt their quiet walk, but otherwise it was peaceful. Quiet.

Maybe a little boring for someone like Tony, but Stephen often humored him in watching stupid television shows or sitting around the workshop for hours. He could do this one thing.

“Tony, you're not having a good time, are you?” He nearly tripped over some apples on the ground as they came to a sudden stop just shy of the next line of trees. Stephen was searching his face, expression blank and unreadable. Tony sometimes hated how Stephen seemed to be able to read him like a book and yet Tony could never pry the mask away completely. Sure, he's seen glimpses of the man beneath the Sorcerer Supreme title, but it felt off-balance and left Tony feeling vulnerable and exposed under those sea-glass eyes. 

“I'm not having a bad time, though. It's just different. It takes some getting used to.” Stephen nodded slowly, cheeks pinking as he took Tony's hand. The smallest of gestures took Tony's breath away, even after over a year together, and it made all the difficulties and insecurities and questions cease to matter. Because he was one of the few who had the privilege of seeing this uncertain, shy, tentative side of Stephen. He learned early on Stephen was a door sealed shut, refusing to budge no matter what you threw at it, and would take time and patience to finally get through. He was getting peeks inside now, months of promising and reassuring (from both partners, if he was being honest) finally wearing away at the walls Stephen put up.

Their relationship was filled with bumps and sharp edges, but it was times like this that made Tony believe it was all worth it. Even if they had completely different ideas of a good time.

“When I was a child, we would all pile into our car, buckets and bags loaded in the trunk, and dad would drive us out to the local farm. We would be bundled up in scarves and sweaters because my mom was always afraid we would catch a cold or pneumonia.” He used a small portal to grab an apple at the top of the tree, the skin shiny and a vibrant shade of red. Tony already wanted to bite into it.

“The three of us – Victor, Donna, and myself – would race through the trees, plucking off apples at random and trying to be the first to fill our respective basket.” Another apple settled in Tony's basket, his arm aching under the weight now. 

“Victor was the oldest but I was the tallest, so I was also the fastest. When we were older, she told us how to then pick the _best_ apples, and my dad would hoist us up to get the ones that looked extra shiny or were darker in color.” He stared down at the yellow apple in his hand, eyes glassy but lips turned up in a soft smile.

“I haven't been apple picking in years; not since I was around seventeen. After Victor died, I never wanted to see an apple tree again. He was the last one of my family still alive, and while we were never close, it still hurt when he died in a car accident a few years ago. I'm the last one.” He sighed and finally met Tony's eyes.

“I never even wanted to do something like this again. And when Victor died, I loathed anyone who spoke of apple cider and going apple picking with their family over the holidays. I buried myself in work and never let anyone close enough to kindle a flame in me again. It hurt so much to lose my family; I didn't want that to happen again.” They were standing beneath a tree, the breeze shifting Stephen's hair. Tony had the urge to reach out and touch him, to pull him close hold him tight, but he knew Stephen didn't particularly like contact like that. So instead, he wrapped his arms around himself and shuffled his feet in the fallen leaves and apples. 

“Is this- This is the first time you've gone apple picking since....since then?” Stephen reached up for an apple, one of those big red delicious ones, and he couldn't seem to stop a smile from spreading over his face. 

“Yes. Being with you and having your little family become my family – our family – well, it made me start thinking back to those memories I buried a long time ago. Sweet memories of picnics in the apple orchard, the apple pies mom would bake and sell at the Farmer's Market each year, the candy apples my dad would help us make each Halloween. The competitions I would have with Victor and Donna to see who could gather the most perfect apples each time. And I realized that letting those memories go was like leaving my family behind; like I'm abandoning them instead of honoring their memory.” He took Tony's hand again, watching their joined fingers with admiration. Tony ran a thumb across the delicate scarred skin of Stephen's hand, waiting for him to finish whatever thought he had left. He didn't dare interrupt this little moment with his jokes or sarcastic comments. Not when Stephen was being open and raw with him. It was a huge moment in their relationship, and Tony wanted to savor it.

“I never wanted to open myself up to that kind of pain again, and when I realized it was happening with you, it terrified me. I wanted to push you away somehow, make you hate my existence just as I tried with Christine so that I could continue through life untouchable. Being a sorcerer only makes something like this all the more terrifying because now I have a weakness; I have something I care about. Something I want to throw away a universe for. It's dangerous as a sorcerer – never mind a Sorcerer Supreme – to have such attachments, but it's not like I was ever someone to follow arbitrary rules; and it's not like you gave me much of a chance anyway.” He chuckled and turned to continue their walk through the trees. He glanced around at the trees as they walked past, seeming years younger and lighter than he has in the entire time Tony knew him. 

“Thank you, Tony.” Peter, Ned, and Happy were already at the check-in place, weighing their bags and chatting with the friendly girl Tony wasn't fond of. Peter seemed to have the most apples, and what they were going to do with all these apples he wasn't sure; but after hearing Stephen's story and getting to be the one to stand with him and have a hand in the man's life, he didn't really mind. 

He knew a few Avengers who would love to have some apples anyway.

“Well, you're welcome, I guess. What are you thanking me for exactly?” Stephen squeezed his hand and surprised Tony by pressing a kiss to his temple. 

“Saving me. For kindling the fire I thought was long cold. For doing this.” He gestured around to the trees. “For being you.” 

And Tony Stark made it a tradition each year to go to the apple orchard and laugh with Stephen as the kids scrambled to gather the apples. He eventually proposed there, in early spring so the apple trees would be blossoming. It was not something Tony ever thought would be part of his life, but now he couldn't imagine his life without it. Without Stephen.

**Author's Note:**

> 31 Days of Autumn Prompt Challenge:
> 
> **1\. Apple picking**  
2\. Getting lost in a corn maze  
3\. Going to a pumpkin patch  
4\. Pumpkin Spice  
5\. Decorating for Halloween/Fall  
6\. Raking leaves  
7\. Masks  
8\. Halloween Movie Marathon  
9\. Hoodies & Scarves  
10\. Fireplaces  
11\. Blankets & Stargazing  
12\. Football  
13\. Farmer's Market  
14\. Bonfire and s'mores  
15\. Horror movie marathon  
16\. Carving Pumpkins  
17\. Apple Cider and Hot Chocolate  
18\. Fall Festival  
19\. Scented candles  
20\. Desserts  
21\. Red, Orange, and Gold  
22\. Costumes  
23\. Haunted House  
24\. Harry Potter  
25\. Apple pie  
26\. Ghosts  
27\. Magic Potions  
28\. Black Cats  
29\. Halloween Candy  
30\. Bones  
31\. Trick-or-Treating


End file.
